Meet the Tutor - Kitty Billings
I am always drawn to the potent spirituality that arises in a yoga practice. This is what calls me to move, breathe and sit in stillness each day, and why I continue to practise again and again.
Kitty Billings
How did you get into yoga?
My mother took me along to my first class as a 14 year old impressionable teenager. The yoga teacher, who is still teaching today, had such a powerfully relaxing voice, I would always fall asleep in savasana!
Do you have a favourite yoga style?
All of them blended together! I love exploring the strength and stability of my body along with the stillness and softness. I enjoy anything that helps me move with awareness.
How has your practice evolved over the years?
My practice was very much based in alignment and structure during my Mysore Ashtanga years. Then I found meditation, restorative yoga and Yin which influenced how I related to my body in a massive way, bringing more awareness and nurture into my daily movement.
Is there an aspect or practice in yoga that really resonates with you?
I am always drawn to the potent spirituality that arises in a yoga practice. This is what calls me to move, breathe and sit in stillness each day, and why I continue to practise again and again.
“You are the sky. Everything else - it’s just the weather” Pema Chödrön
The quote Kitty lives by
What inspired you to start teaching?
Encouragement from family and friends and the potential yoga gave me to help others.
What piece of advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a yoga teacher?
Have a connection with your own practise of yoga, be consistent with it and observe how powerfully it can support you during the ups and downs of life. From this personal experience your teaching will be steeped in deep trust that yoga can also support those in our wider community.
What does yoga give you?
Yoga has given me so much resilience in my life - calmness, balance and strength. It has taken away fear, doubt and trauma. Really, yoga has been the impetuous for great healing and transformation over the last 20 years of my life.
Which yoga related topic is fascinating you at the moment?
I’m loving all food and nutrition related topics, but more specifically to yoga I am really enjoying learning how science is unveiling all the benefits of Pranayama.
What are you reading at the moment?
Where is your favourite place to practice yoga?
Outside, preferably with the sunrise or sunset, looking out over the ocean with a solid set of surfable waves rolling in = My Happy Place!
What is the most unusual place you’ve practiced yoga?
At an airport! I was in San Francisco Airport, transiting on my way to Melbourne and I discovered an open studio. It was equipped with amazing props, the vibe was so relaxing and I managed a 40min vinyasa/yin practice before jetting off.
Do you have a favourite yogi that inspires you?
Many favourite yogis, but these days I am inspired by the human body. Watching and learning from students in class has been so eye opening. Also having inhabited my own body for a while now, I’ve felt it through injury, trauma, grief, joy and bliss. I am in awe of what it continues to teach me and this has been one of my main points of inspiration recently.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not on your mat?
Surfing, paddle boarding, ocean time and swimming.
Find out more about Kitty’s professional background and follow Kitty on Instagram.